1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to inflatable garments of the type employed under emergency conditions by ambulance personnel, paramedics and the like to correct or counteract internal bleeding conditions and hypovolemia by developing an encircling pressure around the legs and abdomen of a victim.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Inflatable garments of the type referred to above are now well known and widely employed by emergency medical personnel. An example of one such garment is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,150 to Kaplan et al. Here, the garment materials are opaque, and hence once the garment is applied to a victim's body, it becomes impossible to locate or examine underlying wounds or to monitor the victim's skin condition. Thus, when a victim arrives at a treatment facility, such as for example a hospital emergency room, attending personnel must first deflate and open the garment before they can begin making decisions on initial treatment steps.
Such garments also are provided conventionally with a unitary structure. Thus, if one part of the garment becomes damaged, the entire garment must be replaced at a considerable cost to the user. Moreover, the conventional unitary construction makes it difficult if not impossible to gain access to critical arteries without first deflating and opening the garment.